Day Two. Dusk.
On the top deck of the luxury cruise ship at Yokohama Port, Kurosawa Hoshino—dressed in a black tuxedo—looked exceptionally handsome, far more mature than usual. Beside him, Ran wore a red off-the-shoulder dress, elegant and poised. Sonoko was in a light green pinafore dress. Aoko was much more conservative, wearing a light blue off-the-shoulder dress with a small jacket over it.
"Wow, the sky is such a beautiful orange-red!" Ran exclaimed excitedly, staring at the last glimmer of light in the distance.
"Yes, it's gorgeous," Sonoko agreed.
"It's a pity I didn't bring a camera. I would definitely have taken a picture," Aoko said regretfully.
"Alright, we're about to depart. Let's go inside." Kurosawa's gaze returned from the gangway below, where everyone had boarded the cruise ship.
Sonoko glanced down as well. "Really? Let's hurry to the banquet hall."
"By the way," Kurosawa asked, "Sonoko, have Uncle Suzuki and Ayako arrived yet?"
"Yes, they came up quite early."
"Did you tell them about Kaito Kid possibly disguising himself as your family?"
"Yes. No problem. No one was disguised." Sonoko smiled.
Kurosawa raised an eyebrow. In the original story, Kaito Kid had disguised himself as Suzuki Shiro to board this cruise ship. But whether he disguised himself as Shiro or not didn't really matter. Over five hundred people were attending the banquet tonight. Kaito Kid had plenty of targets. If he couldn't get to Shiro, he'd find someone else.
"Alright. Let's go to the banquet."
Sonoko turned and led the way.
Not long after, they arrived at the spacious banquet hall. It was already packed with people.
Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Bright light fell on the guests' crisp suits and exquisite dresses, reflecting a beautiful luster. Silver cutlery and a tall vase filled with roses stood on a long table at the center of the hall. Waiters in black vests moved gracefully through the crowd with trays, champagne glasses clinking softly. On either side of the banquet hall, a band played soothing jazz—piano mingling with violin—subtly filling every corner with lively elegance.
"They're over there." Sonoko spotted her parents at a glance and led the group over.
"Dad, Mom, Sis—we're here."
Hearing her daughter's voice, Suzuki Tomoko—with her beautiful face, blue eyes, and a mole under her left eye—instantly glared sternly at her.
"Sonoko, as the future head of the Suzuki family, I sent you here to make connections and meet people. And you only arrive when the banquet is about to start?"
"Oh, don't be angry." Sonoko went to her mother's side and hugged her arm affectionately.
"Aunt Suzuki, hello." Kurosawa spoke up, smoothing things over for Sonoko. Ran and Aoko also greeted her politely.
"Hmph. I'll let you off this time." Suzuki Tomoko tapped her second daughter's forehead with her finger, then greeted Kurosawa and the other two before starting a conversation with him.
"Hoshino, thank you for reminding us. This afternoon, Kaito Kid actually impersonated a cruise ship staff member and called to say the departure would be delayed by two hours. Luckily, you reminded us, and we reacted in time. Otherwise, we might have been successfully fooled."
"Aunt Suzuki, I'm glad you're alright." Kurosawa smiled.
"How come I didn't know about this?" Sonoko asked, surprised.
"You weren't even home. How would you know?" Suzuki Tomoko rolled her eyes at her second daughter.
"Hehe." Sonoko playfully stuck out her tongue.
After chatting for a while, the banquet officially began.
Suzuki Shiro took the stage to speak. Today was the 60th anniversary of the Suzuki Foundation—hence this banquet, which had invited over five hundred prominent figures from all walks of life.
Later, Tomoko Suzuki went on stage and pulled the same trick as in the original story: she gave everyone attending the banquet a fake black pearl, hoping to prevent Phantom Thief Kid from finding the real one tonight. With so many people, if Kaito Kid tried to check each person individually, his strange behavior would definitely be exposed. Plus, the cruise ship only had three hours to reach Tokyo Port—not enough time.
So it was up to Kaito Kid to see if he'd accept this blatant scheme. If he couldn't find the real Black Star tonight, his reputation would definitely suffer.
"Hoshino, do you think Kaito Kid is around us?" Ran looked down at the black pearl pinned to her dress and asked softly.
"Definitely. By the way, did you remember what I told you before?"
"Yes, I remembered." Ran's expression was somewhat excited.
Kurosawa shook his head, silently mourning for Phantom Thief Kid.
Aoko said happily, "Sonoko, your mother's plan is brilliant! Kaito Kid will definitely fail tonight."
"Of course." Sonoko tilted her head back, then lowered it again and sighed. "But my mother is very tight-lipped. She won't even tell me who has the real Black Star."
"You guys chat. I'm going to the restroom." Ran walked out of the banquet hall.
Kurosawa knew that the real Black Star was with Suzuki Tomoko. Something so precious wouldn't be given away so easily. Kaito Kid understood this too. His first priority was to get close to Suzuki Tomoko—and more importantly, to get close to those around her. Only her close confidants could do it. So he was undoubtedly watching from the crowd, waiting for someone to be alone. The moment they were, he'd strike.
As soon as Ran left the banquet hall, Kurosawa saw a woman silently follow her.
"I'm going to the restroom too." He loosened his tie and quickly chased after her.
Just as he reached the corridor leading to the restroom, he heard a scream. Then a figure suddenly flew toward him.
Kurosawa skillfully dodged to the side. The woman who had been following Ran slammed against the wall behind him with a dull thud before crashing heavily to the ground.
The woman—actually Kaito Kid, or rather, Kuroba Kaito—never expected that this girl who looked so much like Aoko would be so powerful. Not weak at all.
Kurosawa looked at Ran, who was standing with her legs apart, slowly withdrawing her fist, and gave her a thumbs up.
"Oh dear—" Ran blushed instantly. She quickly straightened her red dress and transformed back into a beautiful lady. She hurried to Kurosawa's side and asked worriedly, "Hoshino, is she really Kaito Kid? Could there be a mistake?"
"Don't worry. It's him."
The reason Ran had acted was because Kurosawa had warned her that Kaito Kid would target them. If a stranger approached when they were alone, she could attack immediately.
Kurosawa looked at the woman lying motionless on the ground, head down. He quietly took out his baton and said in a low voice, "Kaito Kid. Stop pretending."
He meant it. His superpower, Danger Premonition, had shown him that this guy planned to use hypnotic gas to knock him and Ran unconscious the moment he bent down to grab him.
For more chapters please support me on my patreon, thx!